Menu

Post navigation

recipe: anchovy soup stock

I decided to start cooking again. It started with cleaning and organizing the kitchen last weekend (our kitchen is very tiny and I’m always looking for ways to keep it clutter-free). I had a bowl of garlic in the fridge I’ve been meaning to mince and freeze since Korean food requires it in most dishes. I think I stopped cooking because I ran out of the frozen minced garlic and it was a pain in the ass to have to peel and mince every time I cooked. And I noticed multiple cans of chicken broth and a couple of boiled pacific saury/mackerel pike. My friend introduced me to a quick way of making kimchee jjigae with the canned mackerel pike. So I started with that this week. Then last night I made soondubu jjigae. My hubster really enjoyed it. Tonight, we decided we wanted to eat moo gook, Korean radish soup. As I searched the internet for different recipes, I came across this anchovy soup stock recipe from korean bapsang and decided to start a blog so that I don’t have to search the internet everytime I wanted to cook. This is the best anchovy soup stock recipe I have come across and thought that this would be a great first recipe post.

“Fully flavored” stock is great for any noodle soup such as janchi gooksu. It’s also wonderful for mandu gook and tteok gook.

*Any leftover anchovy stock can be refrigerated for 3 – 4 days or frozen for later use.

Making Anchovy Stock:
Here are three important things you need to know when making any variation of anchovy stock:

Soak dried anchovies and dashima in water for at least 20 minutes. It is especially important for dashima to be pre-soaked in order to fully extract the flavor.

Always boil, uncovered, so any fishy aroma that develops can escape.

Do not boil anchovies and dashima too long. 10 minutes is all you need. Beyond that point, the stock will start losing the delicacy of the flavors or even develop an unpleasant taste. Also, dashima will develop a sticky substance when over boiled, making the stock cloudy.

Anchovy Stock I – Very basic:
It is very common for Korean home cooks to simply throw a few anchovies in the water to make this simplest form of anchovy stock. It’s a convenient way to add another layer of flavor to a dish. You can use this stock in any recipe that calls for anchovy stock.

Prepare 10 – 12 medium to large dried anchovies, and soak in 6 – 8 cups of water for at least 20 minutes.

Then, bring it to a gentle boil, uncovered. Reduce the heat to medium high and boil for 10 minutes. Drain the liquid to remove the anchovies.

Anchovy Stock II – Enhanced:
I probably make this one the most. It’s as easy as the first one, but dashima, a natural flavor enhancer, elevates the anchovy stock to the next level. This will add great flavors to any dish you use it for.

Prepare 10 – 12 medium to large dried anchovies and 2 pieces of dried dashima (about 3-inch squares). Soak them in 6 – 8 cups of water for at least 20 minutes.

Then, bring it to a gentle boil, uncovered. Reduce the heat to medium high, and boil for 10 minutes. Drain the liquid to remove anchovies and dashima from the stock.

Anchovy Stock III – Fully flavored:
In this version, aromatic vegetables add more depth and complexity to the flavor of the stock.

Soak the anchovies and dashima in 4 – 6 cups of water for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a pot large enough to hold 12 – 14 cups of water (5 Qt pot), place the vegetables with 8 cups of water. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium high and boil for 20 minutes. (The vegetables are boiled first because they take longer to release flavors than anchovies and dashima.)

Pour in the soaked anchovies and dashima along with the water they were soaked in. Return the liquid to a boil, and boil for an additional 10 minutes. Skim off any foam on the top. Strain out the liquid into another bowl or pot.

Optional ingredients:

Often I add dried shiitake mushrooms and dried shrimp to this third version. They add strong flavors, and the resulting stock is fairly complex. These optional ingredients can be boiled with the vegetables.